A gardening blog for adults who still love to play in the dirt.

I am not sure of exactly where this picture was taken as it was forwarded to me. I only know its Western New York State. The setting is so typical of upstate New York, and of course, the clouds (normal weather) makes me miss home a lot. Usually its snowing on Halloween or even before. Talk about odorous aromas.....the concord grapes are now being harvested for Welches Company and for sale at the fruit stands. You all know what grape juice smells like, right? Just imagine driving past the vineyards in a aromatic cloud of grape....

Just looking at the pumpkin picture I can smell the cool, damp earth and leaves of orange, yellow and purple that have fallen. I used to say when it rained there it sometimes "smelled like worms." Gross but true. If you grew up in a similar geographic area - you'd agree because after a hard rain all the slimey huge earthworms would be coming out of their holes and crawling across the roads, driveways and sidewalks. I have to stop blogging cuz I am getting all "va-klemptd" about it.

This blog was written by Sentinel staffer Sue Buskist.

Thanks, Sue. I'm not sure what it means to be va-klemptd, but it doesn't sound like a pleasant state of being...

The herbs are still going rogue all over the garden and, I am here to tell you, it makes the most delicious herb butter you have ever tasted. What a great way to take something totally healthy and turn it into a delectable glob of trans fat.

My chief chef, Olan, added a little rosemary, a clove of garlic, tarragon and parsley to the softened butter and let it set at room temperature for a couple of hours. We then placed a tad on our protein packed, barbecued salmon for an amazing treat. This would be tasty on grilled steak too. Yum!!

Anything out of the garden negates any fat that might be in whatever you mix it with.

"I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate."
Julia Child

More of a mental place than a physical one, the secret garden is the place you go to recharge, to rest and to grow.

In this garden you are the one who is growing and changing. Like a flower that pops up in the spring through the snow, you reach for the heavens and are warmed by the sun.

Growing stronger everyday, you may look awkward at first, lanky and unidentifiable. Some may think you a weed and even poke fun. But, after all, a weed is just a plant that is in the wrong place. If you keep stretching and growing (which can be painful), you will develop into what God intended - a bud, then eventually a flower. This takes a lot longer than you want but looking back it was really just a few weeks.

You are fully developed now and beautiful, but you never stop changing. As time wears on you may turn a little wilted and dried out, but as it always is with autumn, you are really just turning more beautiful than ever before.

Some may say you've gone to seed but those seeds are what feeds God's creation. The birds and even people, because every flower of tomorrow is in the seeds of today. Lying dormant, waiting for the next spring, new life beginning the cycle again.

Just like your wardrobe, your canned goods need a good going-over every year.

Out of date? Hanging on just in case you might need it, someday?

Give it away, or compost it, and free up your jars and shelf space for something your family will actually eat.

To can is to have near-perpetual enjoyment of the summer bounty. But nothing lasts forever, and uneaten canned goods and shabby supplies should be sorted and tossed or you’ll find yourself with shelf upon shelf of pickled beets from the ‘90s.

Like clothes, I give my canned goods two years, max. If we haven’t eaten it by then, I either canned too much of something (easy to do) or my family didn’t like it. And every once in a while a dusty, unlabelled jar is discovered lurking behind something else. Not risking that.

So, so long mystery brown jam.

Cheerio, faded cherries.

Pack it in, mushy peppers.

My approach is hardly scientific, but it is in line with what the experts recommend. The National Center for Home Food Preservation (hyperlink to: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/index.html) is a great resource for canning information.

Canning supplies need to be up-to-snuff, too. The wonderful thing about canning jars is they’ll last for decades. Almost all of mine are hand-me-downs from the two generations before me, maybe farther back than that. I love comparing them and seeing how jar styles have changed over the years. But if they’re chipped, they need to be flower vases.